Butter chicken
This week we are exploring classic recipes and reviewing our cookbook library to test some dishes. I think the first time that I tried butter chicken was in Tampa, FL at a buffet style restaurant. It was probably 8 years ago, but I can recall that the owner offered New Delhi’s traditional food. Butter chicken has its origin in New Delhi, based on Wikipedia information and it’s a very popular dish all over the world. [br/]
The recipe was taken from the book World Kitchen: India which has an extensive collection of dishes and also beautiful photos. You can get it on Amazon for $21.
INGREDIENTS (Serves 6)
3/4 in piece of ginger, roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1/2 cup blanched almonds
2/3 cup thick plain yoghurt
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon garam masala
4 cardamon pods, lightly crushed
14oz (400 g) tin chopped tomatoes
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
2 lb skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into fairly large pieces
5 tablespoons ghee or clarified butter
1 large onion, thinly sliced
6 tablespoons finely chopped coriander (cilantro) leaves
4 tablespoons thick (double/heavy) cream
DIRECTIONS
1. Blend the ginger and the garlic together to a paste in a food processor or pestle and mortar, or crush the garlic and finely grate the ginger and mix together. Grind the almonds in a food processor or finely chop with a knife. Put the paste and almonds in a bowl with the yoghurt, chilli, cloves, cinnamon, garam masala, cardamon pods, tomato and salt, and blend together with a fork. Add the chicken pieces and stir to coat thoroughly. Cover and marinate for 2 hours or overnight, in the fridge.
2. Preheat the oven to 350° F (180° C). Heat the ghee or clarified butter in a karahi or a deep, heavy-based frying pan, add the onion and fry until softened and browned.
3. Add the chicken mixture and fry for 2 minutes. Mix in the fresh coriander. Out the mixture into a shallow baking dish, pour in the cream and stir with a fork.
4. Bake for 1 hour. If the top is browning too quickly during cooking, cover with a piece of foil. Leave to rest for 1o minutes before serving. The oil will rise to the surface. Just before serving, place the dish under a hot grill (broiler) for about 2 minutes to brown the top. Before serving tip the dish and spoon off any extra oil.
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